Oath of Fealty

Paksenarrion Dorthansdotter follows her dream of becoming a hero out of legend by running away to join the army. Military life and warfare aren't anything like she imagined - yet she holds to both her duty and her dreams. Sheepfarmer's Daughter, Divided Allegiance, and Oath of Gold tell of her rise to become the paladin who saves a kingdom. In this new trilogy, Paks's former comrades in Duke Phelan's Company assume new roles and the story turns to follow their adventures.

Closer to the Chest: The Herald Spy, Book Three

Herald Mags, the King of Valdemar's Herald-Spy, has been developing a clandestine network of young informants who operate not only on the streets of the capital city of Haven but also in the Great Halls and kitchens of the wealthy and highborn. In his own established alternate personas, Mags observes the Court and the alleys alike, quietly gathering information to keep Haven and the Kingdom safe.

Shadow of Victory

Sometimes things don't work out exactly as planned. The Mesan Alignment has a plan - one it's been working on for centuries. A plan to remake the galaxy and genetically improve the human race - its way. Until recently things have gone pretty much as scheduled, but then the Alignment hit a minor bump in the road called the Star Empire of Manticore. So the Alignment engineered a war between the Solarian League, the biggest and most formidable interstellar power in human history.

At the Sign of Triumph: Safehold, Book 9

The Church of God Awaiting's triumph over Charis was inevitable. Despite its prosperity, the Charis was a single, small island realm. It boasted less than two percent of the total population of Safehold. How could it possibly resist total destruction? The Church had every reason to be confident of a swift, crushing victory, an object lesson to other rebels.

Bold: Kris Longknife, Book 14

Despite her role as a fleet admiral and protector of a planetary system, Kris is still beholden to her great-grandfather King Raymond's commands. She has been personally selected for a mission that will, should she succeed, save millions of lives. The Peterwald Empire is in the midst of civil war. On one side is the tyrannical empress; on the other is the last person Kris ever wants to see again: Grand Duchess Vicky Peterwald. Due to their shared history, the emperor believes Kris can mediate between the factions and bring about peace.

Closer to Home: The Herald Spy, Book One

Mags was once an enslaved orphan living a harsh life in the mines, until the King's Own Herald discovered his talent and trained him as a spy. Now a Herald in his own right, at the newly established Heralds' Collegium, Mags has found a supportive family, including his Companion Dallen.Although normally a Herald in his first year of Whites would be sent off on circuit, Mags is needed close to home for his abilities as a spy and his powerful Mindspeech gift.

Remnant Population

For forty years, Colony 3245.12 has been Ofelia’s home. On this planet far away in space and time from the world of her youth, she has lived and loved, weathered the death of her husband, raised her one surviving child, lovingly tended her garden, and grown placidly old. And it is here that she fully expects to finish out her days - until the shifting corporate fortunes of the Sims Bancorp Company dictates that Colony 3245.12 is to be disbanded, its residents shipped off, deep in cryo-sleep, to somewhere new and strange and not of their choosing.

War Maid’s Choice: War God, Book 4

In Wind Rider’s Oath, Bahzell became a wind rider - the first hradani wind rider in history. And, even if Bahzell is the War God’s champion, because the wind riders are the elite of the elite among the Sothoii, Bahzell’s ascension is as likely to stir resentment as respect. What’s more, Baron Tellian’s daughter, the heir to the realm, seems to be thinking that he is the only man - or hradani - for her. Now, War Maid’s Choice continues the story - and things really get complicated.

Prince of Outcasts: A Novel of the Change

John Arminger Mackenzie wanted to be a troubadour, but fate made him the son of the king of Montival. His sister Princess Orlaith will deservedly inherit the throne of the High Kings, and it will only pass unto him in the event of her death, leaving the young prince on an unknown path to discover his true role in the family.

Treachery’s Tools: Imager Portfolio Series, Book 10

Alastar has settled into his role as the Maitre of the Collegium. Now married with a daughter, he would like nothing better than to focus his efforts on improving Imager Isle and making it more self-sufficient. However, the rise in fortune of the merchant classes in Solidar over the years does not sit well with the High Holders, who see the erosion of their long-enjoyed privileges. Bad harvests and worse weather spark acts of violence and murder.

Into the Dark: Alexis Carew, Book 1

At 15, Alexis Carew has to face an age old problem - she's a girl, and only a boy can inherit the family's vast holdings. Her options are few. She must marry and watch a stranger run the lands, or become a penniless tenant and see the lands she so dearly loves sold off. Yet there may be another option, one that involves becoming a midshipman on a shorthanded spaceship with no other females.

Oath of Swords: War God, Book 1

Bahzell is no knight in shining armor, and besides he has too many problems of his own to be messing with anybody else's problems - let alone the War God's. Unfortunately, the War God has other ideas for him.

The Sword of the South

Know thyself. Its always good to know who you are, but sometimes that's a little difficult. Kenhodan has no last name because he has no past...or not one he remembers, anyway. What he does have are a lot of scars and a lot of skills - some exhilarating and some terrifying - and a purpose. Now, if he only knew where he'd gotten them and what their purpose was....

Sassinak: The Planet Pirates, Book 1

Sassinak was 12 when the raiders came. That made her just the right age: old enough to be used, young enough to be broken. Or so the slavers thought. But Sassy turned out to be a little different from your typical slave girl. Maybe it was her unusual physical strength. Maybe it was her friendship with the captured Fleet crewman. Maybe it was her spirit. Whatever it was, it wouldn't let her resign herself to the life of a slave. She bided her time, watched for her moment. Finally it came, and she escaped.

An Empire Asunder: The Scourwind Legacy, Book 2

The coup that won traitor General Corian the Scourwind throne has been overturned, but his ongoing rebellion has left the empire divided. Lydia's birthright regained, she adjusts to her role as empress at war, while Brennan begins training as an elite Cadreman soldier. With tensions rising between the empire and the Alliance, this momentary lull seems to portend a gathering storm...

Target: Vicky Peterwald, Book 1

Her Imperial Highness the Grand Duchess Victoria Maria Teresa Inez Smythe-Peterwald, daughter of wealth and power, was raised to do little except be attractive and marry well. Then everything changed - her brother, her father’s favorite and the heir apparent, was killed in battle by Lieutenant Kris Longknife, daughter of the Peterwald’s longtime enemies. Vicky vowed revenge, but her skill set was more suitable for seduction than assassination, and she failed. Angry and disappointed, her father decided she needed military training and forced her to join the Navy.

Owner's Share: Trader's Tales from the Golden Age of the Solar Clipper, Book 6

When Diurnia Salvage and Transport undergoes a change in management, Captain Ishmael Horatio Wang finds himself adrift in a sea of red ink and intrigue. He dives in only to find that he is over his head in a universe where cutthroat competition takes on an all new meaning. What tragic price will Captain Wang pay for his Owner's Share?

Falling Free

Leo Graf was just your average highly efficient engineer: mind your own business, fix what's wrong, and move on to the next job. But all that changed on his assignment to the Cay Habitat, where a group of humanoids had been secretly, commercially bioengineered for working in free fall. Could he just stand there and allow the exploitation of hundreds of helpless children merely to enhance the bottom line of a heartless mega-corporation?

A Beautiful Friendship: Star Kingdom, Book 1

Stephanie Harrington had always expected to be a forest ranger on her homeworld of Meyerdahl until her parents relocated to the frontier planet of Sphinx in the far distant Star Kingdom of Manticore. It should have been the perfect new home - a virgin wilderness full of new species of every sort, just waiting to be discovered. But Sphinx is a far more dangerous place than ultra-civilized Meyerdahl, and Stephanie's explorations come to a sudden halt when her parents lay down the law: no trips into the bush without adult supervision!

The Shadow of Saganami

The Star Kingdom has a new generation of officers! And this elite group hand-picked and trained by Honor Harrington herself is going to be needed immediately, as their first assignment turns out to be more dangerous than anyone expected. What was supposed to be a quiet outpost, far from the blazing conflict between the Star Kingdom of Manticore and the People's Republic of Haven has actually been targeted by an unholy alliance between the slaveholders of Manpower.

New York Times best-selling author David Weber invites David Drake and S.M. Stirling, two of today's top writers of military science fiction, to join him in an exploration of Honor Harrington's universe.

Off Armageddon Reef: Safehold Series, Book 1

When Earth herself lay under siege by an enemy humankind could not defeat, mankind undertook one last throw of the dice: Operation Ark. Earth's final colonizing expedition was meant to build a new civilization, on a planet so distant even the Gbaba might never find it, and without the high-tech infrastructure whose emissions might betray its location.

Publisher's Summary

The action continues fast and furious in this third installment of Elizabeth Moon’s celebrated return to the fantasy world of the paladin Paksenarrion Dorthansdotter. This award-winning author has firsthand military experience and an imagination that knows no bounds. Combine those qualities with an ability to craft flesh-and-blood characters, and the result is the kind of speculative fiction that engages both heart and mind.

All is not well in the Eight Kingdoms. In Lyonya, King Kieri is about to celebrate marriage to his beloved, the half-elf Arian. But uncanny whispers from the spirits of his ancestors continue to warn of treachery and murder. A finger of suspicion has been pointed toward his grandmother, the queen of the Ladysforest elves, and that suspicion has only intensified with time and the Lady’s inexplicable behavior. Clearly, she is hiding something. But what? And why?

Meanwhile, in Tsaia, the young king Mikeli must grapple with unrest among his own nobility over his controversial decision to grant the title and estates of a traitorous magelord to a Verrakaien, who not only possesses the forbidden magic but is a woman besides: Dorrin, once one of Kieri’s most trusted captains. When renegade Verrakaien attack two of Dorrin’s squires, suspicion and prejudice combine to place Dorrin’s life at risk - and the king's claim to the throne in peril.

But even greater danger is looming. The wild offspring of a dragon are on the loose, sowing death and destruction and upsetting the ancient balance of power between dragonkind, humans, elves, and gnomes. A collision seems inevitable. Yet when it comes, it will be utterly unexpected - and all the more devastating for it.

The return of Jennifer Van Dyck as reader was a huge success.Elizabeth's Dragon is so different then other dragons i am used to reading about and i love it.The plot is moved along in this story quite well. This is clearly a middle book and while a few threads are wraped up in this tale most are mearly moved along and readed for book 4 and book 5

Who was your favorite character and why?

Dragon. this Dragon has a sense of humor and is clearly not what you expect

Have you listened to any of Jennifer VanDyck’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Well

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

The last chapter is a killer, can't say more or will spoil

Any additional comments?

Audible needs to have Jennifer Van Dyck do Kings of the North and remove that horrid other readers version quickly

Would recommend. The story is solid and moves... we just run out of road so be prepared to stop even though you want to run a full speed! It's going to be hard to wait for the rest of this story, but the author has created several really good inlets to possible stories within this saga and I wouldn't be surprised to see some shorts involving some of the smaller characters.

What other book might you compare Echoes of Betrayal to and why?

Everything up to this point.. I spent the couple of weeks before the release date of Echoes listening to everything from Sheep Farmer;s daughter on. What I want to know is where do we get Liars oath and Legacy of Gird on audio book?Elizabeth Moon is a singularity. From her research into old world military tactics and common things one doesn't usually expect, to the search for the right name and word for things and sounds, to the way she can just pull the reader not just into interest in the story by the feeling of personal acquaintance and connection to the characters, she is truly a great weaver or words and story.The Vatta saga is an whole other flavor of the same consistency in all these things. SPEED OF DARK is one of those rare phenomenon. Mildly science fiction, beautifully revealing of a place and mind so very hard to grasp and understand. Absolutely check it out!

What three words best describe Jennifer VanDyck’s voice?

Forgetful forgetful forgetful.. She had these characters and these names solid and although I was used to thinking Pax instead of Pox , she was consistant and her pronunciations made sense, the voices felt well considered per the characters' attribute and personalities. Then that gave her a book off. Some one else messed uop Kings of the North, and when the publisher had the GOOD SENSE to go back the the narrator who had it down, Van Dyke had forgotten everything she did right. Arian sounded old and stuffy, far to fru fru for the fearless dragon rider steward to the king. The elves lost some of their sing song lilt, but over kill on that in the first three books was annoying, but she HAD balanced it well. Names changed so drastically in pronunciations that it was hard to remember what cities and places... Aar instead of Air.. Aarinus instead of AraAInisSome of the voices seemed to shift in age and voice. PUBLISHERS PAY ATTENTION, Jennifer Van Dyke started out rough in SFD. She settled into a very good and comfortable acquaintance with these characters and this author's distinct style. by the end of the first book and from then on she OWNED IT. Don't give a book in a series to another reader after some one else has well established what has gone before and if you do and get the original back then make sure they review their OWN WORK for consistency sake. This issues can be settled on the shoulders of the producers and directors. It natters to the listener... and boyz... we pay the bills around here.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

SPOILERS ALERT:::The sadness of the rejoicing over a per-born son I knew would not survive the book because of the last paragraph of Oath of Gold. The mutilation of Dorrin's squire ... the brief appearance of our old friend master Oakhalow, ad the ruin of the lady.

Any additional comments?

This story just got really big. What was an inroad to more stories has opened a floodgate of not easily exhausted SAGA. the one thing ... thee are plenty of places where some one says

Moon's Pax stories get better as she moves along the thread spun by story telling the lives of Pax's friends - Kieri, Doran, Jandelier, Arvin et al. Echoes Of Betrayal is competently written in a pretty straightforward manner in a fast paced drama which brings out heroism, treachery, intrigue and a few surprises like a dragon attempting to heal Stammil's eyes then taking him into service, for example). I missed Pax in the prior book in the series Kings Of The North - and still do. But aside from some Pax homesickness, EOB filled my reading time in a most fulfilling way. I like Moon's sense of justice and appreciate her sword and sorcery presented as passing violence. With Moon, an ex-soldier, you always see conflict and violence in an ordered, disciplined fashion. EOB is much like her other books, in that bad and good are locked in mortal combat, psychological as well as physical. EOB may not be great literature, but it is a well crafted fantasy tale which will entertain and leave the reader feeling that s/he has been in the company of ordinary people doing extraordinary things.

Would you consider the audio edition of Echoes of Betrayal to be better than the print version?

The audio edition puts emotion and color to the printed word. I read the book before I listened to it. I enjoyed the audo so much more.

What did you like best about this story?

The multiple themes for each of the major characters in the book keep a listener on their toes. Fantastic audio performance really brings out the emotional state of the character being voiced and the social interactions between characters have true emotion.

Which scene was your favorite?

There are so many. Jandalir meeting the gnomes, Kieri and Arian discovering her pregnancy and especially Dorrin learning Beclan is a mage.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The loss of Kieri's and Arian's son.

Any additional comments?

This book is just as good as the original three books of the Paladin Paksenarrion. I won't discuss more about the plot so there are some surprises left for a new reader to discover!

Paksenarrion has touched many people in her life since she joined Phelan's mercenaries, and few of them were left unchanged as her courage and faithfulness challenged them in their own lives. Things are changing in the world, as new ambition grabs at old history to justify it's course. And old evil re-emerges to destroy the current stability. Rulers are challenged to try to maintain the old stability in the face of these new challenges.

Well read, though occasionally some characters sound a little too similar.

SPOILER!

Don't expect a resolution to this series, yet. The issues are too grave and the end is a true shocker. No country or race or sentient species is like to be untouched by these events. And the challenges to those whose responsibility it is to ward their peoples will be monumental.

I am a 40ish woman with more interests than time but some of my favorite things are books, audio books and e-books. I have over 325 audio titles and have already listened to about 2/3rds of them. I drive over 25000 miles a year and my listening keeps me sane on the road.

I really enjoy reading Elizabeth Moon's fantasy books. The Paks World books are excellent but I felt like there was too much bad happening without some of the older problems having some sort of a conclusion. Too many dangling threads. Too many characters left dangling in the wind.

I also wish he distribution of focus was more even. I would have liked more attention placed on Arvid. He is by far my favorite character and finding out what his final evolution will be intrigues me. I am a little tired of the human vs. elf complication and I am sad that the gods of the realms are so prejudiced. I think the elder races should display more reason and sense but sadly they do not.

I will keep reading as I really want to know what happens but I am hoping the next book brings some closure. I gave it 3 stars overall but the story gets 4. I am not enjoying the narration which is sad because it lessens what would be a better story.

Yes. This book continues the story begun in Deed of Paksenarrion. It picks up Kieri's story, and examines the relationship between the elves and humans in the kingdom he has inherited. The pacing is excellent, characters well rounded.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Kieri and his young wife. They are central to this part of the story.

Have you listened to any of Jennifer Van Dyck’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have not. I like her vocal range and the way she deals with character voices. I will watch for more of her performances.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Spoiler alert for people who have not yet read the book. I was very moved by the moment when the young queen loses her baby, and the realization that food at the banquet had been poisoned.

Any additional comments?

The chief attraction in this series for me is the excellent world building and the interplay between characters and cultures.